eCommerce Logistics, Dotzot and More with Sanjiv Kathuria CEO DotZot

Dotzot’s CEO and Co-Founder, Sanjiv Kathuria speaks his mind on the scope and competition in eCommerce logistics industry, and where DotZot is headed in the midst of it.

How is DotZot different from the traditional courier processes?

DotZot is a focussed company. By the virtue of being a participant in the eCommerce, one needs to make offers with a difference. COD service itself is different because not many companies offer this service in this sector. Secondly, we maintain a very strong information flow through the three parties involved in the process- us, the eCommerce company and the customer.

Most of our shipment orders are from residential areas. We deliver the parcels as per the customer’s convenience. We train our people differently, keeping in mind the micro steps involved in the process of delivery. We make sure, we deliver the order at the exact location to enable the customers a better buying experience.

We have processed about 2.8million orders in the last six months.

Given to the fact that major eCommerce players in the ecosystem have already established their dedicated logistics departments for quite some time now. How do you think Dotzot would pave its way through the market amidst such cut-throat competition?

No eCommerce company has permanently assigned or dedicated their logistics wing permanently. The market is huge and the business will keep growing. Companies are looking for new vendors, and the competition is really tough with every company doing pretty good. People have their own methods in reaching out to the bigger cities. Maybe E-kart has the biggest network with 100-120 cities but beyond that they still need players like us. Also, DotZot is backed by DTDC’s size, scale and delivery network of 8000+ franchisees and services extending to over 10,000 Pin codes which certainly gives us an edge over the competitors.

There are a lot of scope for online stores. The biggest advantage of online stores is that they don’t have a fixed physical establishment. For example, they can be based out of Indore and sell in Agartala.

Speaking of opportunities, it is the interiors of India which has money now. They have resources to buy but do not have access to brands. eCommerce can cater to these areas and gain a fillip in its growth.

And how big is the e-commerce logistics industry in India? Is there any possibility of any private sector player to emerge as the single largest?

I think, the eCommerce sector is the fastest growing, and it has grown to almost 60-70%. Currently, logistics in the eCommerce sector comprises of about 10% of the entire logistics industry. Nevertheless, it is evolving very fast.

The industry is very vibrant and full of scope. There won’t be one player, there would be many to be offering great services. It is a free economy with a lot of opportunities for private business. No one player can monopolize the industry. It won’t be and it should never be.

What are the infrastructural challenges you face in carrying out your delivery processes across India?

The lack of cargo space in aircrafts is one of the biggest infrastructural challenges, we face. The issues surrounding SpiceJet has affected us directly, causing a tremendous pressure at the moment. eCommerce is growing everyday and so are the number of delivery orders.To meet these demands, we need advanced infrastructure; more aircrafts to carry cargos. Hopefully, this area of constraint gets addressed soon.

What is your opinion about the 4-hour delivery Snapdeal is planning to offer via GoJavas? Do a majority of consumers really need such fast deliveries?

I think it’s a good service they are offering. That is how the market is operating. Everybody is offering something new. But the moot question is, how much is the demand of the offerings owing to the fact that these services come at the cost of extra charges. Indian consumers are extremely value conscious, not easily wanting to pay extra. Generally, the consumers do not want to pay for courier services. But this is an interesting move.

We have partnership with Geopost group, a leading European Express Parcel Service provider. Through this partnership, DTDC now has access to Geopost group’s international network and its most prominent operating brand DPD which covers the world’s major markets. We can learn from them and bring in new technologies in India which are already there in the European market.

A couple of things we would be doing are – Pick up and Drop off point (PUDO).This service would be designed to provide convenience to the customers who have a busy lifestyle. For example, people who are not available at home most of the time, can pick-up shipments from the store near to their house at their convenience rather than waiting for the delivery to come to them. People can also send their returns through those stores.

We would be making these offers shortly.

What is your expansion and growth strategy for this year?

We are seeing a lot of tractions coming from Tier 2, Tier 3 and Tier 4 towns now with all eCommerce companies launching their mobile apps. The penetration of mobile phones, especially in the smaller towns has expanded the horizon of eCommerce. We are focusing on the difficult sectors of India- the interiors. Covering the metropolitans is not a challenge. It has already been taken care of. Reaching out to the remote areas is a task and we are planning to emphasize on these pockets.

This is Manoj, Founder at ShopHealthy.in …. Nobody should be using Dotzot. Do not think that you are getting DTDC network when you use them. Their service and delivery is horrendous and our complaint rate when we use them was phenomenal 25-30% spread over 3 months. We stopped using them and it has been 4+ months and our COD remittance and deposit is still pending with them. They have also not compensated us for the lost parcels. Their customer service is non existent. The only response you will get is “escalated to destination for delivery”. They do not publish much information about office number etc on their website. Dotzot is a company that will not survive.

We are very shocked to read this interview. CEO of the company making such tall claims is just in Interview. On ground level scenario is exactly opposite.
1. Delivery from Mumbai to Kolkata take minimum 15 days upto 22 days. ( more than 10 shipments handed over to dotzot in 5 days). EXPRESS SHIPMENT OF 200 GMS
2. Delivery from Mumbai to Ankleshwar takes 18 days. (More than 5 shipments handed over in 1 week) EXPRESS SHIPMENT OF 200 GMS
3. None of the express shipment was delivered on committed time.
4. No one to answer your call.
5.COD remittance only after you send several mails in 2 months.
6. None of the executives will respond your mails and calls.

This is actual ground scenario of DOTZOT.
Beware before falling prey to such fake claims.